Sunday, March 30, 2008

A Sad Day: Infringement of Free Speech on the Net

"Defying the wishes of the government of the Netherlands, a Dutch MP has posted his 17-minute documentary on the Quran, juxtaposing images of Islam's holy book with terror attacks and bombings by Muslim extremists.

Geert Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party, released "Fitna," an Arabic word meaning strife, on the political party's website today, but it disappeared a short time later due to "technical difficulties," reported the London Times."

Wilder is well known as a critic of the "Islamization" of the west and apparently daring enough to confront his government's condemnation as well as the expected threats from offended Muslims. One would expect that, with no possibility of a theatrical release, the film would have found a home somewhere on the internet, but apparently the fear of Islamic violence is so great that Wilders' film is unable to find a host.

In what amounts to an act of censorship, the original host, Network Solutions, decided not to air the film, claiming that the site's content was in violation of their "acceptable use policy."

In the end, however, "the price was too high" for Live Leak also. The video was removed and the following statement was issued in its stead:

"Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed comments from certain members of the British media that could directly affect the safety of some staff members, Liveleak has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

"This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.

"Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one another’s culture.

We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high."

Sad day....definitely. Our cherished freedom of speech has been infringed. High price....a reasonable assumption given the source of the threats. But, Live Leak's hope for a reasonable discussion is resoundingly naïve. Do they really not know that mutual acceptance of Islam and any other religion is impossible? Western nations have welcomed Muslim immigrants and demonstrated their willingness to accept their culture and their religion. The question is: How do we get them to accept OURS?